Source: Sharecast
Vesuvius shares surged on Tuesday after the molten metal flow engineer said it was carefully evaluating a £1.37bn takeover proposal from RHI Magnesita.
Responding to recent media speculation, Veusvius said that since September last year, it has received a series of unsolicited non-binding indicative proposals from RHI. The latest proposal, received on 27 August, was of 551p per share, comprised of 470p per share in cash and 0.28 new RHI shares for every 10 Vesuvius shares.
"The board of Vesuvius is evaluating the latest proposal carefully, including the financial terms and execution risk associated with the proposed transaction, together with its financial and legal advisers, and a further announcement will be made as appropriate," it said.
Under UK takeover rules, RHI has until 27 October to either announce a firm offer or walk away.
Irn-Bru maker AG Barr backed its full-year expectations on Tuesday as it posted a rise in interim profit and revenue, with growth ahead of the soft drinks market, driven by core brand performance.
In the 26 weeks to 1 August, adjusted pre-tax profit ticked up 2.6% to £36.1m on revenue of £247.4m, up 8.5% on the same period a year earlier. Barr said the rise in revenue reflects continued core brand growth and the contribution from recent acquisitions Fentimans and Frobishers.
The adjusted operating margin was maintained at 15.0%, while statutory pre-tax profit dipped 3.7%, mainly due to one-off costs associated with integrating Fentimans.
AG Barr said it was on track to meet full-year market expectations for adjusted pre-tax profit of £71.5m.
Chief executive Euan Sutherland said: "We made strong progress against our strategic priorities during the first half of the year, with continued momentum across our brands and strong execution against our strategic growth drivers. Despite supply constraints impacting customer service in the peak summer months, our core brand portfolio performed well in the market, supported by successful rebrands, innovation and marketing. Our recent acquisitions have expanded our addressable market and investment in our manufacturing capabilities continues to significantly strengthen the business for the long term.
"Looking ahead, we remain confident in the significant opportunities for the business and our ability to build on this momentum in the second half. With our acquisitions now fully integrated and our investment programme progressing well, we remain on track to deliver full year performance in line with market expectations."
Mobility solutions business Zigup said on Tuesday that it had made a positive start to the year, prompting the group to raise its adjusted pre‑tax profit guidance to the top end of current market expectations, now seen at £163.2m to £170m.
Ahead of its annual general meeting, Zigup said trading over the first four months had been strong, driven in particular by its Spanish operations and FMG. Average vehicles‑on‑hire were more than 5% ahead of last year at the end of August, with the Spanish fleet now above 80,000.
The FTSE 250-listed group said FMG volumes were also robust, helped by the re‑award and expansion of a major motability contract, while leverage remained within the 1–2x target range, supported by £1.8bn of fleet assets.
Looking ahead, Zigup said it remained confident in its long‑term growth strategy, noting increased scale across both geographies and continued progress on UK & Ireland simplification initiatives.
Merchant banking group Close Brothers narrowed its pre‑tax operating loss in 2026, though adjusted operating profits also declined, as the group pushed ahead with its simplification and cost‑cutting programme.
Close Brothers' pre-tax operating loss fell 51% to £60.3m, while adjusted operating profits dropped 17% to £120.3m amid business repositioning and softer income. Adjusted operating income slipped 6% to £642.9m, with net interest margins easing to 6.9% from 7.2%.
Costs were tightly managed, with adjusted operating expenses reduced to £430.9m, helped by around £36m of annualised savings delivered ahead of schedule. Close Brothers now expects to exceed £60m of annualised savings by FY27.
The FTSE 250-listed group's loan book was flat at £9.5bn, though underlying growth reached 2% year‑on‑year and 4% in the second half. Impairment losses were broadly unchanged at £91.7m, keeping the bad debt ratio steady at 1.0%.
Close Brothers also booked an additional £164.7m provision related to motor finance commissions, taking the total to around £320m. It also announced that given ongoing uncertainty around the FCA’s motor finance redress scheme, the firm will not pay a final dividend for FY26.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Vesuvius (VSVS) 477.00p 27.03%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 431.60p 12.28%
Zigup (ZIG) 458.50p 5.89%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 191.60p 4.99%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 216.80p 4.63%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 267.50p 3.48%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 832.00p 2.47%
Hansa Investment Company Limited (DI) (HAN) 338.00p 2.42%
Volex (VLX) 648.00p 2.37%
Great Portland Estates (GPE) 313.20p 2.35%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Vistry Group (VTY) 274.60p -3.78%
Genuit Group (GEN) 295.20p -3.02%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 580.00p -3.01%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,745.00p -2.83%
SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 33.60p -2.47%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 264.00p -1.78%
NCC Group (NCC) 148.00p -1.46%
Premier Foods (PFD) 193.20p -1.43%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 88.02p -1.37%
Energean (ENOG) 723.00p -1.36%